This guide is aimed at students who are new to finding legal information. It will take you through searching the Library resources, how to find your course readings, and also how to search key databases.
It can be difficult to find all the information you need in the library as there is so much available. Some of the places you will look for material during your studies are DiscoverEd, Westlaw, Lexis+ and HeinOnline.
The following videos give details about the resources and demonstrations of how to use them.
As you watch try to follow along and practice what you see and then practice finding other materials.
There is also a video on Using Legal Databases (29 mins) that may be of interest as it provides guidance on which resources are best for which search activities.
Westlaw help and training:
Lexis+ help and training:
HeinOnline help and training:
PRACTICE TASKS: Databases
Now you should be familiar with DiscoverEd and three of the main databases. Have a go at finding these resources for yourself. You will need all of them during your Scottish Legal Systems course.
In DiscoverEd:
BOOK: Costa, M. et al. (2020) Steiner & Woods EU law. Fourteenth edition. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press
In Westlaw:
LEGISLATION: Forth Crossing Act 2011
CASE: Morrison v Robertson 1908 SC 332
In Lexis+:
BOOK: Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia of the Laws of Scotland
ARTICLE: Boch, C. Using EC Law before Scottish Courts, 36 Journal of the Law Society of Scotland, 6-9 (1991).
In HeinOnline:
BOOK: Hume, D. (1797) Commentaries on the Law of Scotland Respecting the Description and Punishment of Crimes
BOOK: Bell, G.J. (1899) Principles of the Law of Scotland. Tenth edition.
